Rihanna has said that former boyfriend Chris Brown's assault had some positive outcomes.

The singer, who was assaulted by Chris Brown in 2009, has said the incident helped her improve her music.

"It actually gave me a lot of liberation. What I mean is, I was able to tap into the personal part of my music. I started to tell stories through my music that were actually my stories," Rihanna told Vogue magazine.

She added: "It made me look at the world in a much bigger way because my life was suddenly superduper magnified; all eyes were on me. I needed that in my life to know how to say, 'F*ck off!"

Brown was convicted of assaulting Rihanna following an incident shortly before the 2009 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

(by Holly Frith)